Industry forum to look at how technological developments will benefit savers and investors

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A pan-industry group has been created by TISA to provide insight into how technological innovation has already, and will continue to, transform the way people engage with the financial services sector.

The TISA Technology Innovation Forum brings together a range of financial services and technology companies which will consider emerging technological trends from other industries and geographies and assess how they could be applied to the UK financial services sector.

The forum will work closely with TISA’s Savings and Investment Policy project (TSIP) to determine how technology can be better used to address the consumer debt crisis and to support a sustained, asset based savings culture which is more inclusive.

Bill Wrest, chairman of the TISA Technology Innovation Forum and head of business innovation at Barclays, says: “This is a real opportunity for the financial services industry to step back and consider innovative technologies that could transform the way people engage with the sector. We’ll be looking at how companies in other sectors, such as retail, have used technology to foster a closer relationship with their customers.

“We’ll be publishing a report later this year along with examples of technologies which warrant consideration by UK financial services companies. As ever, we welcome views and debate from across the sector. It’s essential that we find ways of changing people’s attitudes towards financial products and services to encourage long-term saving if we are to avert a looming social and economic crisis.”

Kim Holloway, director of engagement, TISA, says: “We’ll consider ‘cradle to grave’ behavioural patterns and determine ways that companies can harness innovative technology in order to increase saving and investing. This is another way in which the sector can start to rebuild consumer trust and re-engage with many people who currently feel excluded and disenfranchised by complex products and opaque systems.”

The forum will work closely with TISA’s Savings and Investment Policy project, a grouping of 22 leading financial services companies, which is identifying the savings challenges that confront people at all the key stages in their lives. TSIP will publish strategic proposals in September 2014 which will be shared with government, regulators, politicians and consumer groups so that the project can work with them to develop a savings policy and infrastructure that we can all sign-up-to.